Syntagma Square

Things to do in Syntagma Square

One of the most recent naturopathic products to sweep the globe is mastiha, or mastic; the chewy resin, which comes from trees grown and harvested only on the Greek island of Chio, reportedly has antibacterial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties.

An entire floor of the eight-story flagship bookstore of the publishing giant Eleftheroudakis is devoted to travel books on Greece; another one is exclusively for crime fiction (in Greek, English, Spanish, and Italian)—just the thing for beach reading.

One of the great pleasures of the Athenian summer is enjoying a movie (and a souvlaki and a beer) alfresco at one of the open-air cinemas. The swankest is the Aegli, in the leafy Zappeio Gardens near Syntagma Square, which often plays Hollywood blockbusters with Greek subtitles.